Since certain people have recently called into question the responsibility of Victoria Hadfield as a ferret owner, on the grounds that she was unable to afford a $1000 operation which might perhaps have dealt with the immediate illness of her ferret Antigone, I feel compelled to speak (write?) to the matter, as probably the only person on this net who is actually in a position to make any meaningful judgements. In nearly ten years of contact with ferrets, I have *never* known a better ferret owner than Victoria Hadfield. She rescued Antigone from conditions of the most appalling neglect--Antigone had essentially spent all of her prior life cooped up in a cage, even to the point of having forgotten how to play. In the remaining years of Antigone's life, Victoria gave her the love, attention and care which a ferret so greatly needs. I returned to visit Toronto a few days before Antigone's death: Victoria was pale and exhausted with caring for Antigone, and constantly on the verge of tears at the thought of losing her. The question of what means a person should have if they are going to take responsibility for an animal is both important and difficult. What if the operation had cost $2000? $5000? $10000? Where do you draw the line? In the end, I believe that responsible pet ownership is to be measured by ordinary care, not extraordinary expenditures. A person who plays with their ferret, pays attention to it, nurses it through ordinary sicknesses, and in general attends conscientiously to its basic physical and mental needs, may be considered a responsible owner. The decision of how far to go in taking heroic medical steps is too complex to be boiled down to a simple rule, save that a responsible owner can reasonably be expected to make a responsible decision. Remember that we can never prevent death, only postpone it; in the face of this eternal reality, quality of life becomes much the more important question. I hope fellow FML subscribers will forgive me this sermon. A very worthy person has had her reputation impugned and her feelings deeply wounded in a time of bitter grief: it would be wrong to remain silent. Jeffrey L. Singman [Posted in FML issue 0752]